Major in Financial Economics
Description
The Financial Economics major guides students interested in a career in finance to the most useful courses in the two departments currently teaching financial topics, and makes it easier for students who have strong financial economics interests to obtain a minor or area of concentration outside mathematics or economics. Students wishing to major in Financial Economics are required to take the core economics theory courses in macroeconomics and microeconomics to provide a strong theoretical foundation. Beyond those courses, the student specializes in finance. The two departments’ offerings in Mathematics and Economics complement each other well. Economics courses reinforce the concepts of optimization and comparative statics and give students command of computational tools that are ubiquitous in the world of finance. The mathematics courses examine mathematical models and lines of reasoning used in finance.
Requirements for the Major
Students are required to take the following 9 course credits:
ECO 101 Principles of Economics
ECO 251 (1/2 cr.) The Economic Approach with Excel
ECO 253 Econometrics
ECO 291 Intermediate Microeconomics
ECO 292 Intermediate Macroeconomics
ECO 361 Corporate Finance
ECO 362 Money and Banking
MAT 251 (1/2 cr.) Mathematical Finance
MAT 252 (1/2 cr.) Mathematical Interest Theory
MAT 253 (1/2 cr.) Probability Models
MAT 254 (1/2 cr.) Statistical Models
MAT 353 (1/2 cr.) Probability Models II
Co-requisites (2 course credits):
MAT 111 Calculus I
MAT 112 Calculus II
Students taking a Financial Economics major may have a minor or second major in Mathematics, but may not count MAT 251, 252, 253, 254, or 353 toward that major or minor. Students taking a Financial Economics major may NOT have a major or minor in Economics.
The written and oral comprehensive exams, designed jointly and specifically targeted to the financial economics student, serve as a capstone as well as an assessment experience.
Suggested Route through the Financial Economics Major
|
Year |
Fall Semester |
Spring Semester |
|
Freshman |
MAT 111*
|
MAT 112* ECO 101** |
|
Sophomore |
ECO 291 ECO 251 (1/2) MAT 253 (1/2) MAT 353 (1/2) |
MAT 254 (1/2) ECO 253 |
|
Junior |
MAT 251 (1/2), MAT 252 (1/2) ECO 361*** |
ECO 292 |
|
Senior |
ECO 362 |
|
*Co-curricular requirement for the major
**May be taken in the fall of the freshman year
***May be taken in the fall of the senior year
Several of the MAT courses can be delayed one year. Thus students beginning with MAT 010 could follow this path:
|
Year |
Fall Semester |
Spring Semester |
|
Freshman |
MAT 010*
|
ECO 101** MAT 110* |
|
Sophomore |
MAT 112* ECO 251 (1/2) ECO 291 |
MAT 254 (1/2) ECO 253 |
|
Junior |
ECO 361*** MAT 253 (1/2) MAT 353 (1/2) |
ECO 292 |
|
Senior |
MAT 251 (1/2), MAT 252 (1/2) ECO 362 |
|
Oversight
Senior comprehensive examinations for the Financial Economics major will be jointly written and administered by the Economics and Mathematics departments and overseen by the two department chairs.